Woah ~ Hyperion? Scorsese???

[Kharis]

Dan Simmon's epic masterpiece might be making it to the big screen as a trilogy. Of course the books are a quadrology being in this order... Hyperion; Fall of Hyperion; Endymion; and Rise of Endymion. In the link below there is also a hint of possibly Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio being directly involved.

Here is the AICN link. (http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=15798)

I remain very sceptical that they can bring something containing such multilayered depth as these books to the big screen. Much like Dune it can be an overly ambitious undertaking and fail miserably. Has anyone else heard any news about this?




BTW, bookreaders, there are no other books in sf/fantasy I can give an higher recommendation of (besides an equal in George R R Martin's dark and politically-fashioned medievel fantasy series).

[Kharis]

Another link (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/367/367885p1.html?fromint=1) that makes brief mention of the Simmons books and director Scorsese. ;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

THR also says that DiCaprio and Scorsese are also "out to studios with a feature pitch based on four science fiction books from novelist Dan Simmons: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and Rise of Endymion. The project is said to have attracted bids from three competing studios but is not yet set up.

DiCAPRIO!? >_<

[Sejah Haversh]

Hey, he did do a phenomenal job in Catch Me If You Can, so, perhaps there is hope for it.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

DiCaprio always does a good job, IMO, that was just the token "oh no" that I knew was going to come from someone, so I got it out of the way. :p

[Kharis]

I hope so. These books are impossible to adapt to a screenplay. But will wait and see. The first book is full of phenomenal moments that raise the hair on the nape of the neck. Time Tombs, Obelisks, and the mysterious Shrike. The best book of the series containing a Cantebury Tales-type prose. It's followed closely by the third book, Endymion, while the other two books suffer a noticable drop because the latter books raise the bar that high.

The Shrike is the best thing in science fiction since Darth Vader. My faith in a cinematic adaptation are nearly nil and I know Hollywood is going to tweak everything. Yet I remain excited.

[sirdizzy]

i hate scorsese i think hes a hack. i really hated gangs of new york

[Jedieb]

I just saw Mean Streets again tonight. Scorsese is a freakin' genius.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I liked what I saw of Gangs of New York. I waited until the VERY last day I had it rented for to watch it by accident, and then had to return it before it ended. :cry I watched about the last half an hour on fast foward. :\

[Figrin D'an]

Gangs was okay. Far from Scorsese's best, but it wasn't horrible.

[Ardath Bey]

Ditto. Gangs was a disappointment.

OT: Spotting your avatar Figs and have to comment, why isn't Treasure of the Sierra Madre on DVD yet???? Best Bogart movie ever, IMO.

[Sejah Haversh]

I actually liked The African Queen and The Maltese Falcon better than Treasure of the Sierra Madre, myself.

[Ardath Bey]

African Queen and Maltese Falcon rank up there. But character Dobbs is Bogart greatest villianous role ever. Bleak scenery amongst the desert lent to a greater claustrophobic atmosphere. After seeing that movie, I immediately jumped into the shower. That how grittily real I experienced the movie. Awesome movie.

But African Queen is one of the greatest budding movies ever made. Katherine Hepburn proper civil manners clashing interaction with Bogart's calloused hard, down on his luck persona is amazing. Love the movie.

And Maltese Falcon is Bogart typified par excellence. Marvelous performance as Sam Spade. Also Peter Lorre was great as the effeminate Mr. Cairo. Another great classic film.

Director John Huston is a legend.